What to do about Kosovo
The week's news at a glance.
Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro
The U.N. has ordered talks to begin on the legal status of Kosovo, the Serbian province whose secession in 1999 prompted a Serbian crackdown and a NATO intervention. Kosovo, populated mostly by ethnic Albanians, wants independence. But the province has deep historic ties to Serbia, which refuses to let it go. Seasoned negotiator Martti Ahtisaari, a Finnish diplomat, will take on the job of mediating the talks. He’ll have to meet with each side separately, as the Serbs and Kosovars refuse to be in the same room. “Desirable as it would be to imagine that you could have two delegations sitting opposite each other and start agreeing on status,” said Soren Jessen-Petersen, the U.N. administrator of Kosovo, “it’s not realistic.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The genetic secrets of South Korea's female free-divers
Under The Radar Unique physiology of 'real-life mermaid' haenyeo women could help treat chronic diseases
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autism
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.